


The writer vs the liar

by Andromeda612



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adorable Marc Anciel, And they use them, Badass Marc Anciel, Gen, He gets scary, Ladybug au, Lila Rossi Bashing, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, Lila/karma - Freeform, M/M, Marc Anciel & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Friendship, Marc is cinnamon roll, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Needs a Break, Nathaniel calls Marc Maleakhe, Protective Marc Anciel, Slightly Salt For Caline and Damocles, Smart Marc Anciel, The class has more than a brain cell, but don't make him angry, class sugar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:41:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26506870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andromeda612/pseuds/Andromeda612
Summary: Marc is a sweet and very patient boy, is very rare for him to feel fury or even hate... That's why you DON'T want to make him angry. Wise men fears the anger of a gentile soul, it's said, and Marc is a very gentile soul, an angel if you ask his boyfriend and his closest friends.That's why when a certain liar makes the mistake to mess up with his beloved ones he decided that her regime of lies is going down.Lila thought she was smart and that she has her little game won, but soon she would learn that there are clever players, and that this kind writer's wrath is a force to be reckoned with. After all, you just don't make an angel angry and get away with it.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marc Anciel & Alix Kubdel, Marc Anciel & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marc Anciel/Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Alix Kubdel, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Nathaniel Kurtzberg
Comments: 50
Kudos: 221
Collections: MarcNath Fics!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I made this fic from a prompt I made on my tumblr here: https://andromeda612.tumblr.com/post/625470255949627392/i-just-get-an-idea-i-really-love-the-expose-lila

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Marinette is expelled Nathaniel and Alix are having a hard time trying to process what happened. Is not like Marinette to do those things, but the evidence is not helping her case.  
> Fortunately, a certain writer may be some help.  
> Their faith in their friend put some gears into function, they don't know it but soon, some truths are going to see the light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> English is not my first language so, I apologise for any mistakes.  
> Mal'aj = angel

To say that today was a normal day would be a huge understatement, it actually started pretty normal for Nathaniel, he woke up, got ready for school, ate breakfast with his father (his mother was still in her shift at the emergency room of the hospital), his father ruffled his hair and wished him a good day. He then walked to school on his ordinary route, passing in his favorite cafe and bought his regular latte and hot chocolate for his sweet boyfriend. He arrived at school where Marc was already waiting for him, he got a hug and a morning kiss and then gave him his hot chocolate. They chatted for a while while drinking their drinks and eating some cookies, Marc's courtesy. The bell rang, they hugged once more and went to their classes, in his way he greeted Lila and talked while walking, she mentioned something about a manga publisher she met in Japan. Then Miss Bustier told them about their test results, and he was happy because she said that the majority of them got a good grade (those study sessions with Marc paid off). 

That's when things became  _ weird _ . 

First, Miss Bustier said that some anonymous note said that Marinette,  _ Marinette _ , of all people cheated on the exam and that the answers sheet  _ was _ in her backpack. That itself was strange, but it was unbelievable when Miss Bustier took out the answer sheet, the note was right, but... that didn't make sense. 

For starters, Marinette was one of the best students in class, she had always been, so there is no need for her to cheat, especially in an exam that was not actually that important. But the answer sheet was in her backpack. Then Marinette accused Lila of framing her. Nathaniel knew that Marinette didn't like her, why? well, Alix said it was jealous because of Adrien, it made sense. Honestly he never paid much attention to the drama in the class, besides jealousy or not Marinette nor Lila were obligated to like each other, sometimes you don't get along well with someone and that is fine. But openly accusing the other? wow. After that Miss Bustier sent the two of them to Principal Damocles' office. The next thing they knew was a loud cry and when they went to see what it was Lila was lying at the bottom of the stairs and saying that Marinette pushed her. 

Now, **_that_ ** was shocking. Marinette, the most sweet and nice girl in the school pushed someone down the stairs? That has to be wrong! Marinette is not a violent person, she even asked him to not go after Chloe when he was akumatized. Marinette told him everything the next day, at the moment he was very embarrassed, now it was a funny thing to remember, and a reminder of how kind Marinette actually is. So if he was having a hard time trying to understand what was happening then he was in all his right. 

For the rest of the lesson everybody was too confused to actually pay attention. When they went to the locker room things just got weirder. Mr. Damocles showed up with Miss Bustier, Marinette, her parents and Lila, who looked none the worse after falling down the stairs which was... odd. Maybe he is not an expert in injuries but both his parents are doctors, his best friend is a talented roller skater that has had some bruises even from little falls and his boyfriend was rather clumsy sometimes, so he at least is acquainted with them. And Lila surely should have at least some bruises from falling down the stairs, but there no one. There was a bandage in her ankle, but she seemed to walk pretty fine, also the bandage didn't seem well placed, again he is not an expert, but doctor parents and a boyfriend that have some knowledge in first aid due to his own clumsiness, yeah he also know a thing or two about this. 

He was a little focused thinking about the strangeness of the situation that he almost missed the scene before him. Lila accused Marinette of stealing a necklace, an heirloom, and when she opened her locker a box and a fox tail shaped necklace falled from it. Everybody was in shock it was impossible! Marinette is not a thief! But the evidence is there, and before anyone could say something Mr. Damocles just expelled her there and then. 

And then the red akumas appeared. What the hell universe? 

Most of the people in the locker room were akumatized, he managed to avoid the butterflies, some breaths and happy thoughts of green eyes and soft black hair kept him from becoming a villain again. To his horror, Marinette had not such luck. Thank God, before something really bad happened the red butterflies became pure white and the villains returned to his confused friends and teachers. 

Yeah, it was strange and somehow unnerving. One of your friends, who is one of the nicest persons you know is accused of things you know they would never do, but there is evidence against them, and then the magical terrorist that has been attacking Paris for almost a year sends a bunch of scarlet akumas to make an army of villains, but then for whatever reason he recall the akumas. He didn't know why Hawk Moth did that, but he is not going to complain.

Now he is here, in the middle of the locker room trying to understand what the hell just happened. Nathaniel was just at the verge of having an existential crisis when he felt a little punch in his shoulder, looking at the source he meets eyes with his best friend.

"Are you ok, dude? You seem a little... conflicted" Alix knew something was bothering him, and he knows it, there is no point in denying it, also he knows that she wouldn't judge him, so he decided to be honest, maybe Alix could help him to find an explanation and/or face the truth.

"It's just... You don't really believe Marinette did those things, do you?"

At that the pink haired girl just sighs and gives her friend a little smile, though she looked as confused as he feels, "At least I'm happy to not be the only one" Nathaniel let out a sigh of relief he didn't know was holding.

"I feel... confused, those are things that don't fit into what Marinette would do but..."

"There is evidence against her..." Alix just sighs once more and looks at the floor "Marinette is my friend, I know her and I know that even when she can do strange and quite questionable stuff, she would never hurt anybody, at least not on purpose, nor she would cheat or steal, she hates dishonesty! But I frankly don't know what to think of all of this!"

Detecting a headache coming her way, and that her best friend was as blaffed as her, Alix decided that there was no point in still thinking about it "Look, we are too stunned to think properly and we are not going to get any answers like this, is best if we just take a break and go to the art room..." the teen give her friend a knowing look and a smirk made its way in her face "...besides, You don't want to keep your  **beautiful angel** waiting, do you?"

At the teasing the artist couldn't help the blush forming in his cheeks or grumble internally, ‘ _ here we go again’ _ ... Since developing his romantic feelings towards his comic-partner Alix has been teasing him mercyless, even when he wasn't aware of them, and she just got worse once they started dating. Her favourite taunt is about his favorite pet name for Marc. The thing is, he has always seen the shy writer like an angel, even when he saw him as just a friend, Marc is just too nice and kind for his own good, he forgave him pretty easily after the Reverser incident, and is always patient and understanding, it was natural to make the comparison, and in his defense he is not the only one, he knows their friends from art club and Marc's friends from his class think the same. And once he acknowledged his true feelings towards him that idea just got even more stronger, until the point he unconsciously started to call him mal'aj in his head, and then in the real world, the first time he nearly had a heart attack thinking that he ruined things, until Marc asked him what that means, and remembered that he was speaking in Yiddish, so taking the opportunity he just said it was a nice nickname in Yiddish and that he thought it was ok since they were best friends, and besides the word describes him perfectly. Marc was fine with that answer and when he asked the meaning, and the artist just answered that was irrelevant and he knew all he needed to, the writer didn't push further. Of course Alix knew it wasn't irrelevant, but she didn't push either. Once they started dating he finally gave him the traduction, the lovable blush that took over his face, neck and ears was priceless. Later he learned that Alix, Rose and Juleka were eavesdropping. Since then Alix doesn't miss a chance to taunt him about the, honestly, cheesy pet name for his boyfriend.

Oh great, seems she isn't done teasing him.

"Oh, oh! I know!" she elbowed him playfully "If you ask for a hug maybe you can brighten your mood, after all...  _ just a look at those gorgeous green eyes makes all of your worries disappear" _ she mimicked with a hand in her forehead in a very dramatic way. Ok, that was his own fault for ranting about his feelings with her before gathering the courage to confess, especially when he was so cheesy when it comes to the writer, but honestly  **_that_ ** was Marc's fault, Who gives him the right to be so cute and sweet? He just couldn't help it, he still can't but is not like he is complaining, Marc's reaction to it and his own cheesiness is always worth it.

Feeling his face warmer, he decided that was enough of her friendly teasing. He is grateful, though, at least he could recover some normality this day. Is not like he was going to say it out loud, instead he just rolled his eyes playfully and punched the other's shoulder lightly.

"Shut up! First of all, you also think that he is an angel, as well as our closest friends, secondly you also like Marc's hugs and you know it..."

"True, he is too nice to exist and his hugs always makes you feel better"

"...And thirdly, no matter how much you complain about my rants, or how sickenly sweet we are, I know you are happy for us. So you can taunt me all you want, we both know that you also cooed and get in shipper mode, so I can also tease you" the artist gives her a smirk.

"You are right, can't deny it" the skater's smirk shifts to a sincere smile and starts to walk "Come on, we are already late"

Nathaniel returns the smile and shakes his head, following his friend to room 33.

When they arrive is to see that, in fact, Marc is already there. They greet the art teacher and the writer and go to their respective workplaces, Alix at the wall and Nathaniel at his partner's side. He greets him with a quick peck on his cheek, and Marc gives him a sweet smile that, truth be told, makes his mood a little better.

"Sorry for the lateness"

"It's ok. Is everything alright?" Always caring, Marc has always been a good listener and adviser, maybe they can talk to him and get an actual answer for all of this mess. But right now, he just wants to follow Allix advice and take a break.

"Yeah, but... maybe we can talk later? Alix and I would really use a third opinion" Marc, sensing that it was probably something important provided a sincere smile and comforting eyes "Sure" and they started to work.

While working on their comic Marc could notice that, indeed, something is bothering both his boyfriend and his pink haired best friend. The ravenette is a perceptive and observant person, plus he knows them, so it was quite easy to tell that something is on their minds. He could look it in the way Nathaniel's strokes were messier than usual, or in the way Alix shakes the spray can with more strength than necessary. The signals are subtle but are there. Well, once the club is finished he could have more details, maybe they can talk to Marinette too, after all she is very good at solving problems. And speaking of…

"Where is Marinette? She is always here by now" looking around he notices that she is not the only one missing. "Juleka and Rose are missing too"

Alix and Nathaniel stop their work and exchange a look, Marc notices but can't determine what emotion they are feeling. He addresses them. "You guys know something?"

Exchanging another look they seem to have a silent conversation, then Alix just nods and Nathaniel looks around, noticing that they are the only ones in the room, even Mr. Carracci was outside attending a call. With the coast clear, he returned the nod to Alix who takes out her mask and walks towards them. He addresses his boyfriend.

"Remember I said that Alix and I would use someone else's opinion?" The green eyed boy just nods in affirmation. Alix takes the word.

"Well you see, today was a very strange day, some things happened and we don't know what to think about it"

"What happened?" worry starting to raise in his chest, maybe this was more serious than he thought. Alix and Nathaniel look at eachother one more time and sigh. They are still confused and a little frustrated, but maybe Marc can throw some light in the issue.

"Well..."

And they tell him everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that is the first chapter, I will be working on another project at the same time so is possible that updates would be a thing, but I'll do my best. As you see I like to include my hc, so is probable that you would be seeing more of them. Hope you like it!  
> Also, just you know ;) Marinette also knows what mal'aj means since Marc talked to her the day Nathaniel finally told him the meaning. They are my BROTP besides Alix, Nath and Marc friendship.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alix and Nathaniel tell Marc about the whole incident and he rants about all the wrong things with that expulsion. At the end they also told him about Lila and Marinette's relationship as well of the things Lila said to them. Marc makes them see the light.
> 
> The gears are moving and the first pieces are falling into place. 
> 
> “There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”  
> ― Patrick Rothfuss, The Wise Man's Fear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a long chapter, I hope you like it. Kudos and comments are welcome. Also I apologize for any mistake, english is not my first language.

Marc is _ soft. _ In many ways, his voice is soft, his gaze is normally soft, his touch is soft especially when treating an injury, petting an animal or dealing with a child, his temper is soft, and his hands and hair are unfairly soft. Nathaniel's words not his. So, he is soft and it is very difficult for him to get angry. Sad? As any other people, Insecure? It was easier than he would like to admit, Annoyed? Of course he can! Ask Kim! But angry like in scowling and wanting to snap? Yeah, good luck with that. 

But it is not impossible. There are some things that could make him really angry and, in his best friends and boyfriend’s words, scary. Those things are unfairness, hate towards things you can't help, neglect, unprofessionalism, victim blaming, bratty behavior, among other things and, the top of that list, his beloved ones being hurt. And right now, he is facing most of those things. He honestly can't believe his ears at what he is hearing! 

Once Alix is done talking he remains silent a few seconds, letting the words sink. Then he faces the two persons in front of him and lets escape a sigh. Nathaniel and Alix can tell that Marc didn't like the news. 

"So... let me get this straight" He joins his hands in prayer mode and makes his fingertips touch his lips briefly before turning them towards his companions. "You said that Mr. Damocles just expelled Marinette for supposedly cheating on an exam, pushing this Lila girl down the stairs and stealing her necklace, the three of those being things that  _ not _ fit with Marinette's behavior, AND that this was made  _ without _ an audience or further investigation because there were "incriminating proof" against her?" Marc surely heard bad, it has to be! Otherwise he would be really concerned about his school. 

Alix and Nathaniel just nodded. Oh well, he DID heard fine, wonderful. He kept silent some seconds and took a deep breath, got up and... started pacing in circles while muttering under his breath, because this is NOT happening! Alix and Nathaniel for their part are wondering if they should be worried. The pink haired one whispered to her friend. 

"This doesn't look good" 

"I know, he clearly is not happy with this" the red haired whispered back without taking his eyes off of his boyfriend, thinking about what to say to regain his attention, that is not necessary though, it seems Marc is done muttering, now if he knows his boyfriend, and he does, comes the ranting. Marc stops pacing and is facing them instead. 

"You guys can't be  _ serious _ ! Do you have any idea about how many things are  **wrong** with this?!" he makes moves with his arms and his voice is a little louder than usually, making clear his frustration, neither of the artist in front of him bother in answering, they know it's not use in trying to talk to him while he is ranting. 

"For starters, I really like Miss Bustier, she is nice and everything but seriously! Calling Marinette out  _ in front of the class _ ?! Especially when her  **only** source is an anonymous note that pretty well could have been some prank or being wrong?! She said it was not ok to accuse someone without proof, _ yet _ she accused Marinette over an anonymous note that,according to common sense, IS NOT PROOF ENOUGH!" Alix and Nathaniel wince at the raise of Marc's voice, yeah, he is getting angry. This would become ugly. 

"And  _ even _ IF that was proof enough, exposing Marinette like that  _ in front of the class _ was totally unprofessional of her as a teacher!" They wanted to defend their teacher, they really did but Marc has a good point, even they have to admit that Miss Bustier has some flaws and the way she manages certain situations leaves much to desire. 

"Also! Has nobody bothered to think about how _ unlike _ Marinette is to cheat?! She has never done that, so why now? And nobody thinks that it is  _ strange _ that the answer sheet was just shoved inside her backpack, a  **day after** the exam?! WHY ON EARTH SHE WOULD KEEP IT THERE? It makes no sense at all!" Now that they think about it, it **is** strange, the way she was caught was too... easy, the proof was too obvious, it didn't feel... natural. 

"Secondly, you said Lila accused her of pushing her down the stairs, Marinette who  **hates** violence pushed someone down high stairs, but somehow Lila has  **not a single bruise** on her. That is even more strange! I had got bruises from falls a lot less serious for god's sake!" Just the same thought Nathaniel, it was strange and something was rubbing him the wrong way. " Also there are no witnesses, the only thing you saw was Lila lying at the bottom of the stairs, what again IS NOT PROOF ENOUGH! And what is even worse, Alix, you said that Damocles didn't even bother in **_checking the cameras_ ** !" Again Alix simply nodded, before talking to Nathaniel she asked Lila some questions, she had a bad feeling about all of this, but the italian's answers made nothing to help. 

"And why? Just because a girl told him a thing and he took it as an actual fact!" Marc pinches the bridge of his nose and takes some breaths, he can't believe his principal... wait, no. Actually he  **can** , if his spineless attitude towards Chloe is anything to go by, but he thought he  _ at least _ would be fair and professional in other matters. It seems he was  **wrong** ! 

"It wasn't Knight Owl supposed to be a  **_detective_ ** ? And it wasn't "The Owl"  **_supposed_ ** to follow his example and be one himself?!" He clenchs his hands into fits and inhales sharply. Alix and Nathaniel share a worried look, again Marc has a very good point, Lila lying down the stairs and saying that Marinette pushed her wasn't evidence enough, it could have been an accident, but Damocles took Lila's words as a fact and didn't check the security footage, that could easily be addressed as neglect, and Marc hates it. 

"Where is his common sense?! Or critical thinking?! He didn't find it suspicious that Lila had Not. A. Single. Bruise on her after  _ that _ kind of fall?! COME ON!!!" And the teens flinch, Marc is starting to get scary, should they look for akumas at this point? 

Seeing the other two flinching makes Marc realize he is losing his temper, he breathes, deeply and calming breaths and closes his eyes, ' _ happy thoughts, your handsome and sweet boyfriend, your amazing friends, your successful comic... yeah'  _ He sits down and inhales deeply and slowly exhales. He is ok now, he opens his eyes and addresses the pair. 

"Sorry" he apologies softly and shyly. The other two relaxes instantly, an angry Marc is never a good thing, they prefer their always calm and tender Marc. The writer for his part managed to calm down enough to rethink things, maybe Damocles was not entirely at fault, he still doesn't know what the nurse said and from what Nathaniel told, maybe she was being mediocre as well, after all the bandage on Lila was poorly placed. Perhaps she made a bad diagnosis and because of that Damocles didn't bother to look at the cameras? Which is  **_also_ ** odd, because Mrs. Augier is a very dedicated nurse that cares about her patients. Ughhh he is already tired! 

"What did the nurse say?" At that both of them had a different reaction, his boyfriend looked like he didn’t think about it and Alix looked… uneasy?

Alix  **is** uneasy, because she knows Marc’s is  **not** going to like her answer. She didn’t like what Lila said either. Seeing Alix’s expression trigger some bells on Marc’s head, she knows something and he can tell is not good. He gets up and addresses his pink haired best friend. “Alix, do you know what the nurse said, it was bad?” 

Knowing that there is not an easy way to go through this, the skater simply says the facts as they are. “They didn’t bring Lila to the nurse” 

“I’m sorry,  **_what?!_ ** ” 

Alix just sighs and explains what she knows. “One of the things I asked Lila before going with Nath was about what the nurse said to her, I also found strange that she had no bruises and also noticed her bandage, Lila said she didn’t go to the nurse, when I asked why she said it was not necessary because she was certificated in first aid by some famous paramedic in Italy or something between those lines” Which was pretty bad, despite Lila being certificated in first aid, it was the school  **obligation** to bring her to the nurse, specially after that kind of fall. Meanwhile Marc is trying to not lose his temper, he sits down again and massages his temples ‘ _ deep breaths and happy thoughts; your handsome and sweet boyfriend, your amazing friends, your comic, your favorite chocolatery near dad’s office, in and out, in and out… fine’  _

The writer lets out a long sigh before taking the word again. 

“So, you are saying that after being supposedly pushed down the stairs Lila didn’t receive the proper attention because she was “certificated” he made sure to make clear quotes in the word certificated “And Principal Damocles,  **again** , just bought that and didn’t insist in bring Lila to the nurse, who has a degree in nursing and is obviously more qualified than a teenager that went through a curse?” 

“Yeah, that sounds about right” 

“Wonderful! Even more neglect conduct. Does Mr. Damocles have any idea of how  _ bad _ this would look to the School Board?” It was a rhetorical question, but even if it wasn 't the clear frustration in his voice made the two other persons in the room feel scared to talk right now. He doesn’t see use in keeping talking about the matter, too much energy that he is not sure to have. 

“And then we have the necklace!” he groans in his hands. “Another thing that does not make any sense! If she _ knew _ Marinette took her necklace why didn’t she go to a teacher  **before** ! Why didn't she say anything **before** ?” Again Marc has a good point. It was strange, if Lila knew, why she waited until then to say something? “Not to mention that the necklace just fell off her locker, it is too obvious! If she did steal it, Why on earth would she put it where it can be  _ so easily found?!  _ Besides the lockers  **don’t even have locks** ! Everybody could have broken into it, the incident with Chloe and Miss Bustier’s present is evidence enough” That is also true, but they don't like what Marc is implying. 

Before any of them could say something Mr. Carracci comes back to the room and goes to his desk. 

“Do you want to go to another place to keep talking?” The two best friends share a look, they know that Marc would just get angry, that is not what they want but they also know that they need answers, what Marc said so far is right and makes them feel even more uneasy about all this mess, and if there is someone who can help them is him. They nod and start to collect their things. Getting the message Marc does the same, they say goodbye to Mr. Carracci and look for an empty classroom. 

Once they find one, they go inside and take the front row to sit down. Neither say anything for some seconds, then is Marc who breaks the silence. “Judging for the look on your faces I can say that you can see how  **wrong** all of this is” 

“Well, yes, all of what you said so far have sense, the way Mr. Damocles and Miss Bustier managed things left much to desire and… now that I think about it, like  _ really _ think about it, the claims, the evidence, everything feels… unnatural like it was planned” his boyfriend admits and Alix is fast to express her agreement. 

“Both of you are right, but that would mean that someone was framing Marinette and…” she trails off, because if you think carefully you can only get one suspect, and she doesn’t like it, she doesn’t like to think that one of her friends is a liar and a bad person. Nathaniel thinks the same, but is Marc who says it out loud. 

“And who would that person be? Who was the only other person involucred in all this mess?” Any of them say a word, but know pretty well the answer. “It was Lila” 

“Woah! Wait there dude! I know that this looks bad but, Why would Lila want to frame Marinette?” Alix knows the situation points towards Lila, but it also points towards Marinette and is more probable that she was innocent, maybe with Lila is the same. 

“I don’t know, I really don’t know this girl, but maybe if you tell me more about her we can find something. How is Lila and Marinette’s relationship?” 

“Well… is  _ complicated _ ” is the unsure answers from Alix and Nathaniel nods in agreement. 

“Could you elaborate please?” 

“The first day she came back from her trip in Achu Marinette seemed… unfriendly with her, I mean we made accommodations in the seats because she had tinnitus, but Marinette didn’t seemed upset with her seat and Lila felt guilty, it was not cool” 

“I have some questions” because there is something in that anecdote that bugs him “First, I know Marinette sits in the second row, if Lila had tinnitus it was more logic to move her to the first row…” the read head interrupts to clarify.

“We  **did** put her on the first row” 

“Then why was Marinette not ok with her seat if she didn’t even move?” That didn’t make sense. 

“Oh, well, we didn’t just move Lila, all of us change seats” 

Marc is starting to have a bad feeling about this. “In that case… didn’t Marinette try to negotiate about her seat? I mean she is pretty good at organization and I’m sure that you would have made an arrangement that worked for everybody, especially if  **all of you** were there to help” at that Nathaniel and Alix has the decency to look ashamed. 

“The thing is… Marinette was not there when we did the changes” his boyfriend stated shyly, Marc keeps silent some second, yup he is not liking this. “And where and with whom did you put Marinette?” he asks slowly and suspicious “At the back row… alone” his voice is barely a whisper but Marc can catch what he said pretty well, and he is surprised to hear that, his boyfriend and best friend are very caring people and he knows the rest of his friends too, so is a surprise that they would act in such inconsiderate way, and he makes it clear for his two companions to see. Alix and Nathaniel duck their head under the ‘I’m not angry just disappointed’ look of Marc. 

Ugh. They are scared of the angry look yeah, but even that was better than the disappointed look. “So, you throw Marinette at the back all by herself, didn’t  **any** of you think that maybe she also wanted to sit with her friends, that she didn’t want to be alone?” Ugh, they feel like a toddler being chastised after doing something nasty, though they know he is right, now that they think about it, it was not cool to move Marinette without telling her. 

When either of them say something to defend themselves Marc continues talking. “Do you know that Marinette was in all her right to feel upset about her seat and it was not considerate of you to move her without her opinion?” he asks firmly, making the both of them raise their heads and lock eyes with the writer, they nod. 

“You are right, we were not cool either” admitted Alix while rubbing her arm. “Maybe is too late but, I think we still should apologise to Marinette” Nathaniel nods in agreement and Marc gaze softens and a small smile makes his way in his lips. 

“Good. Now, I still have some questions, you said Lila had tinnitus, but she is too young for it, also you said “had” like in the past so… How she had tinnitus at such a short age and are you saying she doesn’t have it anymore? How did that happen?” Maybe he is not an expert but he likes to read a lot, he also makes pretty much investigation for his and his boyfriend's comic, as well for the other stories he writes and commissions, and a considerable amount of them had required to made some medical research, so he knows one thing or two about different ailments. 

“She said she got it from an airplane turbine, she was saving Jagged Stone’s cat from a runway in an airport and the turbine damaged her earing, but fortunately Ladybug’s magic cure healed it when she became Chameleon” Marc just stares at Alix, waiting for her to laugh and say that it was a joke, but when she remained silence, no signs of joking in her face a dread feeling got hold of him. 

“And you  **believed it** ?  **All of you** did?” He asks, almost horrified, she can’t be serious, can she? For Nathaniel and Alix’s part they seem confused, why is Marc acting that way? “Yes?” the roller skater answers, though she doesn’t sound very confident. 

The writer just hides his face in his hands “Oh my God” They  _ really _ believed that! Now he is concerned about his boyfriend and the rest of his class! He puts down his hands and stares them, right in the eyes “Guys, that has absolutely no sense! What she said was a lie, a pretty bad one! How is that you believed it?!” Alix and Nathaniel's eyes open wide, and Alix is specially taken back from that statement.

“WHAT” they shout “Why do you say that? What reason had Lila to lie to us?” Alix demands, she has already heard something similar. 

“For starters Jagged Stone doesn’t have a cat, he has a crocodile, you guys are fans of him, you should know! He has had Fang since he was an egg, almost fifteen years now! He even made an interview about his pet! Is on the internet and his social media, you can check it! He clearly says he loves Fang very much and he had never had another pet besides him” They pull out their phones as fast as they can, and indeed there is the interview and what Marc said is true, Jagged Stone has never owned a cat. 

“And even if he had a cat, the security staff of the airport would never have allowed Lila to go near the runway, that is dangerous and would have put the airport in serious problems! And I don’t think her mother would have allowed it either. Also, in the strange case that she did get to the runway, an airplane turbine makes sound of more than 140 decibels, if she was exposed to it she would be deaf, partially at the best, tinnitus is caused by age, infections, traumas and other kind of damage to the audit sistem, and is a constant ringing in the ear, her story has no sense” it should be not a surprise that Marc is right, security in airports is strong and organized, it would be difficult to get to the runway without being noticed, they are not sure about the medical part, but they know Marc in fact knows somethings about it. 

He is looking at his phone right now “And assuming her tale is true, why is there not a single article or new about it? I’m sure that such a feat should have been on the news, specially if it is about an international Rock Star, but the only thing I got searching was the Ladyblog, and not even Alya put any source to support that interview” Browsing through their phones once more they can’t com up with something, just the Ladyblog. This is bad. 

“And finally, she said Ladybug’s cure healed her? The power doesn’t work that way! If so, hospitals would have closed a long time ago in Paris!” Yeah, they also thought it was strange Ladybug’s power could heal an illness, after all that never happened before. 

Oh god, does this mean… 

“Wait! Does this mean Marinette was right?!” Alix blurst all of a sudden, the boyfriends just stared at her like she was crazy. Is Marc who asks. 

“What do you mean by  _ that _ ?” 

“Well as I said, their relationship is complicated mostly because it seems that Marinette dislikes Lila for some reason. After the seat thing there were no more incidents, but we noticed that everytime Lila was near Marinette would just avoid her, if she showed up at an hang out Marinette would blow a lame excuse and go, things like that, when the girls and I asked Alya about it she said that Marinette was convinced Lila was a liar” 

That got Marc’s attention, he knows Marinette and knows she hates lies and by extension liars, if she thinks this girl is one she must have her reasons, and after hearing that tale of the cat he can’t blame her. “I have my own theory but why does Marinette think she is a liar?” 

"Alya says is because she is jealous of Lila, she thinks that Adrien would be interested in her because all her compliments, and that makes sense, honestly, it explain why she dislikes Lila when she is actually very nice and sweet" 

But Marc is not convinced by that answer, he knows Marinette pretty well, she has become his best friend, they considered each other siblings in everything but blood. So he knows that even when jealousy can fog her judgment, at the end if she is in the wrong she would accept her mistakes, apologize and do better. If this Lila girl really is nice and sweet, by now Marinette should be able to be at least polite with her. 

“Are you sure that is the only reason?” Alix croocks an eyebrow at him, like he just asked something dumb. “Come on, Marc. You know her, you know she has done…  _ questionable _ things for his crush on Adrien, as well as how jealousy makes her to  **not** think clear” 

“Yes, that’s true, but I also know that jealousy by itself is not reason enough for her to plainly dislike someone” Alix and Nathaniel give him a pointed look. But Marc knows what he is talking about. 

He also raise an eyebrow and gives them a pointed look too “Well, take Chloe for example, she is obviously crushing on Adrien too, but she is also a brat, so is not a surprise that Marinette dislikes her” That is true, but is Chloe he is talking about, the only people that truly likes her are Sabrina and Chloe herself, that is a totally different matter. Like reading their thoughts Marc keeps talking. “There is also Kagami, is true that at first she wasn’t Marinette’s favorite person, but she never acted as she utterly disliked her nor she was rude or anything, also I know Adrien asked for her help to take Kagami on a double date with her and Luka, even knowing that Adrien in fact has interest in Kagami, she still helped him and after the Friendship Day the two of them became good friends. Marinette even introduced us and I can say that they get along very well despite both of them liking the same boy” 

OK,  **that** is a fair point, Alix knew about the double date, and Marinette introduced them to Kagami as well, and they really are good friends, Nathaniel may not be that involucrated on that matter, but he knew Marc had hang out with the two girls sometimes, so he knows is true. 

With the look banished from their faces Marc softens his own and continues. “I know Marinette has flaws, but I also know that she is capable of realizing her own mistakes, apologizing and doing better. That’s why I have my doubts about her disliking this girl out of pure jealousy, I know she can put aside that kind of feeling if she is making mistakes because of it, so, If this Lila girl is really that nice and sweet… Why does Marinette dislike her so much?” 

At that Alix and Nathaniel, Alix the most, looks embarrassed, after all is true, Marinette is a good person, she is not perfect but she is better than a jealous brat, if she really dislikes Lila there should be a reason. But they just brush it off her feelings about Lila as simply jealousy. 

“Have you asked her?” They winced slightly at that. They _ never _ asked her about it. “Well, Alya said it was just jealousy, and since she is her best friend we didn’t think more about it” Marc decides to use his ‘lecture tone’ 

“Well, I’m her best friend too, but as you see my view of the situation is different from Alya’s, in this kind of cases the best is to ask the person directly, so you can avoid misunderstandings” he ends with a soft smile, like he is talking to kids much to the artists annoyance and embarrassment. Not even them can escape from Marc’s lectures or his ‘mom side’ is cute but sometimes is embarrassing, and they are not kids, thank you very much. 

“Yeah, I know it was the right thing to do now, Marinette is better than that, she must have a good reason to dislike her” Alix admitted. 

“And to think she is a liar” Nathaniel peeped up “And after what Marc said about the cat thing… I think that Marinette might have a good reason to, I mean, if that was a lie… what else was a lie too?” 

That gets them thinking,  _ indeed  _ what else was a lie? 

“Maybe we can figure it out, if her other lies are as bad as the cat one, I'm sure we will be able to discover them if we think about them carefully, what else has she said?” Marc asks with a small smile and Alix and Nathaniel start to tell everything Lila had said to them. From the people she claims to know to all the things she claims to have done, as well as all her supposed ailments and even talk about that time when Kim innocently pointed out a hole in one of her stories, Kim of all people, Lila immediately broke in tears and said an excuse so everybody rushed to conform her and glare at Kim, even them, and Kim profusely apologized. Now that they think about it, that excuse was very dumb. 

Marc writes all of it in his notebook, and soon he is capable of pointing out every single hole, contradiction and no sense in those claims, and with Alix and Nathaniel’s help they start to gather some proof to support Marc’s notes. At the end they came to the revealing that Lila  **_is_ ** nothing but a huge and manipulative liar. To say that they are  _ pissed _ would be the understatement of the century. 

“THAT ROTTEN LITTLE LIAR!” Alix's shout would have been heard in all the school, they are glad that almost everybody was gone by that time. “She has been lying to us! treating us like fools!  **using** and  **manipulating** us!” Alix is ranting under her breath, pacing in circles in front of them while they look for any dark butterfly. 

Nathaniel is clearly mad too, though he is doing a better job than Alix in not snapping, maybe the gloved hand in his knee is helping. “I can’t believe we fall that easy for those lies, they are stupid!  **We** are stupid!” Yeah, he is doing a better job but the frustration is clear in his voice. Marc can’t deny that it was pretty foolish of them to fall for such lies, but he also understand that maybe is not at all their fault, taking in account what Alix said, this Lila is not only a liar but a manipulative one for that matter, she is charismatic and knows pretty well how to twist things in her favor, also if he is right, he found a pattern in what Lila said, she said things that surely are going to be of interest for her audience. In other words  **she tells them what they want to hear** , it makes it more difficult for them to believe she is a liar, when you are told what you want to, you definitely are going to  _ want _ it to be _ true _ . 

That’s why he is fast to comfort them, they made mistakes, but is not the end of the world they still can make up for it. “I wouldn’t say you are stupid” both teens hive him a look that clearly says  _ ‘are you serious?’  _ “I mean it” 

“We know you do but… damn her lies are not that clever, we should have known better” his boyfriend admits. “Well… yes, but also no” At their puzzled look he decides to explain himself. 

“First, is the fact that from your point of view, at least, her claims are not that unbelievable.” Both seem intrigued by that last part, the read head is the one who asks. 

“What do you mean “ _ from our point of view” _ ?” 

“Well, Lila claims to know all these famous people and do all these amazing things, but your class is pretty special you know? Almost all of you have done things that are as amazing as Lila’s lies. Like Adrien, he is a famous model, he also practices esgrima, basketball, piano and speaks chinese; Chloe is the mayor’s daughter and Sabrina is the daughter of the mayor’s first in command officer ; or you, Nathaniel! You are the co-creator and illustrator of one of the most popular comics in Paris, and you know that I don’t say this just because it is my project as well, the polls and statistics of our editorial are proof enough and even the heroes themselves have shown their support. Speaking of! Alya runs the most popular blog in Paris when it comes to them, even Ladybug have supported her as well, and you, Alix! You live in the Louvre and have won many medals in roller skating, Max is literally a genius, he made his own AI best friend, Kim is a very talented athlete too, Mylene’s father is a famous actor and she has talent too, there is also Kitty section, they have a contract with Bob Rob, and of course Marinette! She has won Gabriel Agreste’s contest and has been prized by him and the Style Queen, she has made commissions for Jagged Stone and is your class president! All of you have made amazing and interesting things or are pretty well connected, one more student with those claims is not that hard to believe” 

That makes them feel a little better, but still, some of her excuses and lies were easily disproved, how did they fall that deep in her net of tricks? Like reading their minds the writer continues his explanation hoping to lighten a littler the guilt in them, 

“Also, Lila is not just a liar, is a manipulator and a pretty good one even if her lies are not that good. From what you told me I can tell that this girl has charisma, and knows how to twist things in her favor. For example that incident with Kim, that excuse was ilogic and yet you get upset with him and comforted Lila” 

“Ughhh dude, no need to remind us” Alix groans clearly ashamed. 

“Let me finish” he saids, always patient “You got upset with Kim, but I don't think it was because you believed Lila” both of them look ready to ask what he meant but he rises a hand so they won’t interrupt him “Lila immediately started to “cry” and act all upset of not being believed, then she threw an excuse that made Kim look bad, you were not upset because you believed Lila since you didn’t have time to think about it, you were upset because she was upset, she was “in dismay” and your natural response to a sad friend was to find the cause and deal with it, you didn’t even process if what she said was correct, you just needed to make her feel better” 

Seeing with satisfaction that both artist where understanding he continues “Lila not just plays with words, she also uses emotions to turn things the way she wants, you were manipulated and used, being fooled is not a crime, you are victims as well” the shy boy finishes with a small smile and understanding in his eyes. This seems to help, since his friend and boyfriend seem better and less angered than before. 

“Thanks” they say at the same time. 

“Tho, we still need to apologize to Marinette, not just for the seat thing, but also for never listening to her side of the story” Nathaniel remarks and Alix nods in agreement. 

“I’m sure you will think of something, I can help you if you need, but right now I think we should go, is getting late” Marc says while watching his phone, indeed, is past 3:00 p.m. The other two also check their phones and are surprised to see the notifications they miss, too immersed in finding the truth to notice. It seems Mayura made an aparicion with a fake Ladybug, lucky the true heroes already saved the day. 

“Wow, today have been a strange one” and the comic duo can’t help but agree with their best friend. “Hey! Wanna have dinner at my place? I’m sure dad and Jalil will be glad to have you guys… especially you Marc, Jalil has been obsessed with that blog of conspiracy theories you showed him the last time and is dying to discuss it with you” the last part is said in a groan, but the girl couldn’t hide the fondness in her eyes.

The boys laugh and happily agree, calling their parents to let them know about their absence. The trio take their belongings and leave the school. While they walk, or skate in Alix’s case, Marc remains silent, thinking. He seems calm in the outside but the truth is that he is very **very** angry, again he is a patient and quiet boy, is strange for him to feel that way, but his beloved ones being hurt is the most easy way to do it, and this liar is messing with **all his friends and his boyfriend!** She is not just liying, manipulating and using them, she also gives them false hope with all the false promises she made, they are gonna be hurt once she fails in fulfilling them. And now SHE GOT MARINETTE EXPELLED, so yeah, that brat crossed many lines. The only reason he remains calm is because he already lost his temper and right now he doesn’t have the energy to deal with Hawk Moth’s manipulations, he needs to stay serene. 

At his side his boyfriend and best friend notice his mood, Marc is quiet most of the time but the two of them know him pretty well and have learned to read his silences, right now they know the writer is pretty much angered, they are too but for Marc his friends and beloved ones are a treasure, something precious and you don’t just mess with them and expect him to do nothing, they know he is trying to not lose his temper and decide to help, just like he always do. 

“Mal’aj” Marc comes back from his thoughts at the sweet tone in his boyfriend voice as he calls him his favorite pet name. He stops and looks at him, giving his full attention.

“Since Alix invited us to dinner, Why not bring a dessert? We can go to your favorite chocolatery and buy a box of your favorites” he proposes with a smile. 

“Yeah, and we have time, we can stay awhile and drink hot chocolate, I heard they have a special promotion of hot white chocolate and butter cookies” Alix ad with a smirk. The writer smiles tenderly at them, grateful for having such wonderful people in his life, of course they know he was upset, and of course they use his sweet tooth to improve his mood. 

“Yeah, I would love that” 

And they resume their path, now in direction of Marc’s favorite chocolatery. The shy boy is definitely better, and he knows they still have to deal with the Lila problem, but that can wait, for now, he is just going to enjoy the evening with two of his favorite people in the world and indulge his weakness for sweets. Once rested and with a cool head he can think of what to do, because he may be an anxious disaster when it comes to social interactions, or a ball of nerves and insecurities most of the time, but when it comes to care and protect his beloved ones all of that moves to the background, because the people he loves are cherish to him, and he won’t stop to anything nor anyone to protect them and make sure they are happy. Much less a liar that thinks is smarter than she really is. 

Watch out, Rossi! You have provoked the anger of one of the kindest souls, now face the consequences. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of my hc is that Marc read a lot about lots of things, he is curious and also makes research for his writing, I make so myself so, why not?  
> Also, I think he would like conspiracy theories not because he believes in them, but because they are like well constructed stories. Jalil would love to talk about it with someone, even if Marc doesn't truly believes them, he always makes good comments and theories himself.  
> I also think that Marc looks like he really like sweets XD


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang talks to Marinette they discover some other things and they, or more specifically Marc, start to planning.
> 
> In a chess game strategy and patience is important, is such a luck our dear writer has plenty of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the long wait, NMN consumed all of my time and then I had to write for other activities, also Le Paon's chapter three is done, but it will take a while since that fic goes through grammar checking with a native English speaker since is a collab that both my partner, Kapane, and I love and want to make it the best way possible, so if you read it be patient please. 
> 
> I really like to think that Marc can be anxious and terribly shy but when it comes to defend the people he loves he can be brave and bold, is a thing that happens and I personally enjoy writing him like this.

It is Sunday, Marc, Alix and Nathaniel are walking towards Marinette’s home to talk— and apologize in Nathaniel and Alix’s case— there are some things they all need to say and to listen. 

The day before Nathaniel texted him saying that Alya sent a text to their class group chat saying that Marinette’s expulsion was lifted and that was all a big misunderstanding, everybody was relieved and happy, the people that doubted Marinette even for a second apologized and she forgave them, happy ending. 

However the comic duo and their best friend knew something was off there, don’t get them wrong, they are also happy and relieved that Marinette is back in school but they can’t help but feel the way Lila just took back what she said is very suspicious. 

So they decided to talk about it with Marinette. 

Nathaniel and Alix also prepared an apology gift; two drawings made by them and an ice cream pot of Marinette’s favorite flavor. They texted Marinette earlier saying they wanted to talk and if she was available, she said it was right so when they finally arrived at the bakery Marinette’s parents were already waiting for them. 

“Marinette told us you were going to visit, she is in her room, you already know where, please feel free to ask if you need anything” Sabine warmly says as Tom waves at them, they say their thanks and go upstairs to their friend’s room. 

Marc knocks the trap door and after some seconds a smiling Marinette receives them. 

“Hi guys, it's nice to have you here!” She welcomes them to her room. 

“Thanks for receiving us, Marinette” Nathaniel says as he and Marc sit down on Marinette’s divan and Alix and Marinette sit on the desk chairs. 

“You say you wanted to talk?” Marinette asks, looking at them. Alix and Nathaniel share a look before looking at Marc and then at Marinette, they are a little nervous so Marc decides to break the ice. 

“We have some things we would like to discuss but first Nathaniel and Alix have something to say to you” Marc states, the two artists share a final look before sighing and facing the noirette. 

“Marinette… we” Alix starts, this is harder than they thought. 

“We are sorry Marinette” they say together, Marinette blinks confused, not entirely processing what is happening. 

“W-why are you apologizing for guys?” she asks, both curious and confused. 

“Because we are your friends, we’ve known you from years now and we should know better than just assume your feelings, we should have known that you must have a valid reason for truly disliking someone” Alix says. 

“Besides, we could have tried to speak up for you when Damocles expelled you, it wasn’t fair how things happened” Nathaniel finishes. Marinette understands a little more but she still feels there is more context missing. 

“I… guys I really appreciate this, and don’t worry about that incident, after all it happened very fast and Damocles didn’t give me chance to defend myself, I don’t think you would have had a chance too” she assures them, Alix, Nathaniel do feel a little better but them and Marc can’t help but feel even more disappointed in their principal, he didn’t let her defend her case. 

“Though, I have to ask where this came from?” Right, they still have to talk about it. 

This time the three of them share a look and sigh. “We know about Lila” Alix finally says. Marinette needs three exact seconds to process those words. When she does she immediately starts spiraling about all the meanings behind it, they really discovered Lila? Or maybe the liar pulled out another lie and a complex plan to ruin her in the long run? 

Noticing their friend already overthinking Nathaniel decides to add some light in the situation. 

“We know Lila is a liar and that she has been manipulating and using us, and that she must have framed you to get you expelled” Marinette snaps out of her thoughts at hearing that, it takes another five seconds for her to fully understand what is the meaning of them. 

And Marinette can’t believe it, they… they really know Lila is nothing but a liar? They really believe _her_? 

“You… is true? You really think she is a liar?” she questions, still not believing it, uncertain like they were going to change their minds if she doubts it. 

“We don’t think she is a liar, we _know_ she is” Alix grumps bitterly, and Marinette finally starts to believe that **indeed** , some of her friends finally discovered Lila’s true colors. 

“H-how did you guys find out about her?” the girl asks curiously. 

“It was thanks to Marc, actually” Nathaniel states, taking Marc’s hand in his. 

“After Damocles expelled you Alix and I were kind of troubled? Because we know you would never do such things and the evidence… it just didn’t feel right” 

“So we came to Marc thinking that he may throw some light into the problem and boy he did!” Alix exclaims, Marinette’s eyes widen in surprise. 

“Wait, so are you saying you believe I was innocent?” she asks, touched, relieved and a little surprised, the two art kids blink at her and Alix immediately replies. 

“Of course we did! Marinette, we have known you for three years, and you are our friend, we know you and know you would never do those things!” Alix exclaims. 

“Besides” Nathaniel chimes in “I learned my lesson, sometimes things don’t are what they seem to be and is best to think before jumping into conclusions” he looks briefly at his boyfriend, Reverser was a mistake but he at least learned from it. 

“But…” and this is a big but “We didn’t want to think bad about Lila either, so we had a hard time thinking about an explanation in which both of you were innocent but we came with nothing more than suspicion towards Lila” 

“Then we came to the art club, mom here of course noticed something was wrong” Alix continues and Marc playfully rolls his eyes at his nickname, the skater loves to call him mom and even he know he _does_ give her motives to do that— not like he is going to admit it out loud— but is still funny how she defends that nickname whenever he tries to deny it. 

“So we talked with him, we explained everything and he was fast to point out all the things that were wrong with that expulsion, nothing new for us there; Damocles really messed up this time, however…” Alix sighs and shares a look with the comic duo, after a nod from Marc she continues. 

“He also pointed out what neither Nath nor I wanted to consider: the fact that Lila was a very suspicious party in all of this, after that we told him about everything since Lila came back and all the things she told us and well… thinking about it, like _really_ thinking about it and with his help we came to the realization that all of that was pure bullshit” By this point Alix is more ranting. 

“And we were fools for believing her, but you weren’t and you tried to warn us, at least you tried with me and the rest of the girls, but we put aside your feelings and at least I’m sorry for that, Marinette” Alix finishes sincerely with clear regret in her eyes. 

“Also, even when you never told the rest of us about Lila being a liar we still knew you didn’t like her and we never bothered in ask your reasons, we also assumed things and rested importance and we should have at least ask for your point of view, and for that I’m sorry” Nathaniel chimes in, also with true regret in his words. Before Marinette can react he also adds. 

“Oh and we are also sorry for the seat thing when Lila ‘came back from Achu’” he says making quotes in the came back part. 

“Yeah, even if we truly believed she needed to sit in the front it was not okay for us to make changes without taking you in consideration, we literally threw you at the back and it was not right, can you forgive us?” Alix says and she and Nathaniel look at their friend with hope, ready to accept whatever she decides. 

Marinette for her part needs a moment to process everything, two of her friends are finally free from Lila’s spell, all because they believe in her innocence about the expulsion thing, not only that they even came to apologize to her, which she really appreciates, she understands that Lila is a really good liar— she herself believed her for a moment until she lied about being Ladybug’s best friend which she knew for a fact was a lie— and she can’t blame them for being manipulated and fooled, that is not a crime, but it did hurt a little they never reached to her to know her side of things— at least with the girls that simply assumed her dislike of Lila was pure jealousy for Adrien— so it did feel bad, but seeing her friends genuinely apologizing… that feels good. 

The pig-tailed girl smiles softly at them. “Of course I forgive you guys, not gonna lie, it did hurt a little when you thought I was just jealous but now… you discovered the truth because you believed I was innocent in the first place despite the evidence against me, that really means a lot, and is not a crime to be fooled or manipulated, Lila can be very convincing, even I believed her at first… I’m just glad you guys believed in me and now are free from her claws” 

Marinette can feel some moisture forming in her eyes, and you can’t blame her, after Lila’s trait she have been feeling a little afraid of her words, even if she has faith in her friends, Lila was very determined to ruin her life and she couldn’t help but feel a little worried about it, but now Nathaniel and Alix not just found the truth but they also believed in her, they prove her right and she couldn’t be happier. 

The two art kids return smiles of their own and give her the presents. “We also brought this, take it as a peace offer?” Nathaniel says as he and Alix give the bluenette the drawings and the ice cream. 

Marinette giggles and happily takes the gifts. “You didn’t have to guys but thanks, this is nice” after that they all share a group hug, feeling relieved and glad. 

They told Marinette everything they talked with Marc, from the failures in the process of her expulsion to why he thinks Lila could manipulate them so easily. Then they come into a topic the three art kids were curious about. 

“You said you also fell for her lies, but how did you know she was lying then?” Marc asks, while they all eat some of the ice cream. 

Marinette knowing she can’t tell the true reason— that she is Ladybug and knows for a fact she is not besties with Lila— she tells the story she planned for Alya and Nino. 

“Well I’m not very proud of how I found out but… when she first came to our school, this was some months before you came Marc, I got a little jealous and ended up spying on Lila and Adrien when they were in the park” she explains bashfully and ashamed.

“Marinette…” Marc talks with a warning tone, the girl— knowing pretty well a lecture will come her way soon— looks more ashamed, giving a shy smile to her best friend— her boy best friend, love you Alya— and raising her hands in surrender. 

“I know, I know it was not okay and I’m really ashamed of it, but could you please listen to the rest and then lecture me about privacy?” She asks, not wanting to repeat the same with Alya and Nino, lucky for her Marc is more willing to listen. 

“Okay, but we will be having a conversation later, young lady” Marc warns her and if not for the fact she knows her friend is being very serious, she would have laughed at his ‘mom mode’. 

“So, as I was saying… I was spying on them, at first it was just Lila with a book I recognize it was Adrien’s, when he arrived at the park she literally threw the book into a trash bin” the bluenette doesn’t miss the face her writer friend makes at hearing that part, books are treasures for him “ I came closer to get back the book, that’s when I overheard her talking about being Ladybug’s best friend” 

She makes a pause, trying to calm down because the memory still angers her— though she can’t explain _exactly_ why it makes her so angry— then she continues. 

“Then she lied about being some fox heroine descendant, Volpina, and started talking about how much better she was than Ladybug and how she was actually jealous of her because Ladybug doesn’t even reach her heels” no matter how hard he tried it is impossible for her to hide the venom and annoyance in her voice, however, it seems she is not the only one indignant if her friend’s frowns are any sign. 

Alix scoffs at that “Such interesting words from someone who is supposed to be her ‘best friend’” the skater makes sure to make big quotes in ‘best friend’, Nathaniel and Marc just nod, also annoyed at that brat’s audacity. 

“I know… then Ladybug herself showed up and called out Lila for lying about being her friend” the eyes of the other three widen in surprise, Lila got called out by Ladybug herself? That must have been embarrassing for the liar. 

“When she said that she never met Lila before, and after she got akumatized into Volpina I started wondering about what she told us and well… I do know Jagged Stone personally so I asked him about his pets, he just has ever had Fang, no cats, so I questioned myself what else was a lie, I did some research and just as I suspected, absolutely nothing of what Lila claimed was true” she ends her explanation. 

The other teens are processing the story, now Marinette’s behavior makes more sense, especially if she saw with her own eyes Ladybug calling Lila out when she tried to lie to Adrien and… 

**_Wait_ **

“ADRIEN ALSO KNEW LILA WAS LYING?!” Alix is the one to express their thoughts. Nathaniel and Marc look as shocked as Alix and Marinette winces at the yell. 

“Yeah… he knew…” Marinette answers just for Alix to scream again. 

“AND HE NEVER SAY ANYTHING?!” Alix is angry, Nathaniel is angry, Marc is definitely angry— she really doesn’t like to see that frown in his ever sweet face— and she perfectly understand why, however she also understand Adrien’s reasoning so before they could plot the blonde’s death— she is almost sure Marc is already getting some ideas— she decides to intervene. 

“Before any of you get angry with him let me explain why he didn’t say anything… please!” the three guests look between them, they are not surprised by Marinette wanting to defend the blonde, however all this mess started because of assumptions so it would be hypocritical if they don’t at least give him the benefit of the doubt, besides Adrien has been a good friend so far, he must had his reasons. With some nods of agreement Marc addresses the designer.

“Fine, why did he stay silent despite knowing Lila is a liar?” 

Marinette takes a moment to organize her ideas and begins to explain. “Adrien was worried about Lila getting akumatized if we outed her, because when she ‘came back’ from her trip to Achu, she tried to lie to him again and he reminded her he already knew she was lying, he asked her to please stop, that there was no need to lie to any of us to be friends, apparently she didn’t like it and that’s why she got akumatized into Chameleon” 

Marinette takes a deep breath, what she will say next may anger them more, but she needs to tell them the whole story. 

“That day, when she was telling you guys how Ladybug saved her she made a mistake, when she talked about her hearing problem she say the wrong ear, I was about to point out that when Adrien stopped me, he explained me what happened and why he thought it was a bad idea to expose her, he said that as far as we know the rest didn’t matter so he asked me to take the high road and as you can imagine I did” before any of them could express their discontent with that awful advice— because Marinette can see in their expressions they are far from happy with the blonde right now— she rises a hand to stop them and gives her a look ‘let me finish’ they reluctantly let her speak. 

“He said that because he thought Lila’s lies were harmless and that she will expose herself eventually, that we just needed to wait” Alix’s indignant voice interrupts her. 

“HARMLESS?! Marinette she got you EXPELLED!” the bluenette just put her hand in the shorter girl’s shoulder and squishes it trying to calm her down, the other two boys also look like they want to say something but decide to let her explain, Marc gives Alix a look and she just scoffs but calms down nonetheless, allowing Marinette to defend her model friend/crush. 

“I know, her lies do harm people… but Adrien didn’t see it like that” Marinette shots them a look before any— Alix the most possible— could argue. “Take on account Adrien have been homeschooled for his whole life before this year, he was very sheltered and his only friend was Chloe, the only contact he ever had with lying people were the tabloids or the gossip in the media, which you address by ignoring them, for him Lila was just that; a tabloid, so he thought just ignoring her would work, that she will eventually expose herself by getting trapped in her own web of lies, he really didn’t think she would go this far” the bakers’ daughter looks at them expectantly. 

The three of them are calmer now— a lot calmer— because if they think about it, Adrien probably didn’t know better, it doesn't surprise them, as Marinette just said he was very sheltered— they could even say the model is kind of naïve— , the guy still has some trouble getting some social cues and they are very sure Gabriel never bothered into teaching him how to deal with real people and real problems— specially the boyfriends since they have heard Nino rant countless times about how shitty the designer is as a father— it is not hard for them to believe Adrien actually thought Lila was just like tabloids, it was just natural he thought ignoring her will really work. 

This time Nathaniel is the one who talks after sighing. “Okay, I think we get why he acted the way he did, and it is actually not a surprise, Adrien probably didn’t know better” Alix and Marc just nod in agreement. 

“And he now knows better” Marinette chimes in “After I was un-expelled he called me, he made a deal with Lila, she will model with him and look like they are good friends if she got me back and leave me alone, he also apologized for the high road thing and say that he now understands that Lila’s lies hurt people and the she just doesn’t care about it” 

The rest just stare at her, Adrien made a deal with the devil for her? Wow, it actually is something Sunshine would do but still, also having to put up with the liar must be punishment enough, yeah, the anger is totally gone. 

“Well, the important is he learned from his mistake and is trying to do better, besides it got you back to school, though I can’t help but think a deal with the devil is too much, but judging for what I know so far there was probably no other way” Marc states, his friends and boyfriend agreeing with him, he thinks a little about it, Lila lies, manipulates and is will to go very far to get rid of threats— because the charges Marinette got expelled for are very serious and would have make difficult for her to be accepted in Lycee— she really is a horrible person… a horrible person that is definitely after Marinette… 

“Marinette…” he starts in a tone that any of the presents can identify “Lila obviously has something against you, I’ll assume it is because she is aware of you knowing the truth, which leads me to think there must have been a confrontation about it, hasn't it?” he asks, still with that tone and an expression on his face that makes it really difficult— even for the three of them— to guess what is happening inside his mind. 

The future designer makes a face because firstly: there was a confrontation that she really doesn’t like to think about; and secondly: if they were angry for what Adrien told her they would be furious when they find out what _Lila_ told her. 

“Yeah, it was” she says, hoping that maybe she could just leave it like that but unluckily— or maybe luckily— Marc doesn’t miss her unsure tone nor the face she is making, call it intuition, knowing his best friend, knowing how to read people or even mom instinct but he knows something happened during said encounter. 

“Marinette... “ he starts again with a tone that makes Marinette know that there is no way she could hide the threat from them. “What exactly happened during that confrontation? We are your friends and we really care about you, you can tell us but if you don’t feel right about it that’s okay, still remember we will be here for you” he finishes with a soft tone and a smile, Nathaniel and Alix nod and give the bluenette soft looks. 

The girl returns a smile of her own, sighs and tells them. 

“It was the same day she came back, it was lunchtime and she said she had a sprained wrist, so the others were carrying her things, despite that she was totally okay before, so to prove my point to Alya and Nino I threw her a napkin ball and she caught it well, but as soon as she realized everybody was watching her confused she started to act like it hurt her and even said that she caught it because she was worried the napkin could hurt Max’s eye, she keep the distressed act, after that everybody got mad at me so I went to the bathroom to try to calm down…” Alix interrupts her again. 

“Wait, they really believe a napkin, a fucking napkin could hurt Max’s eyes, even when he wears damn glasses?!” She asks bewildered, she can’t be serious. 

Marinette looks at her confused, they were not at the cafeteria that day? Like reading her thought the pink haired girl adds. 

“Jalil had a discount coupon for a coffee shop near the school so he invited me to lunch, I wasn’t in the cafeteria” she explains, Nathaniel also adds his own justification. 

“I was in the cafeteria but i wasn’t paying attention at all, Marc borrowed me a very interesting book about fantasy so I didn’t notice anything” 

Marinette makes a little ‘o’ with her mouth, well that explains why they look so surprised. Though, she can’t blame them, the story is pretty… absurd, she still wonders how everybody believed that bullshit. 

“Answering your question yeah, they believe it, I’m still wondering how” 

“I may have a theory” Marc says, gaining the attention of the others, he flinches just a little for having three pair of eyes on him but recovers pretty fast— they are of his favorite persons in the world after all— he clears his throat and begins to explain. “I already explained this to Alix and Nathaniel, Lila uses emotions to manipulate her audience, she is very fast to play the waterfalls or the pity girl to gain sympathy, they were not angry because they really believe you would hurt Max, they were angry because a person they thought was nice was upset, the logical part shutted down because they were to occupied with Lila being in ‘distress’ to stop to think about the claim logically, they got mad at you because you were the source of Lila’s discomfort to put it in some way, if they had had time to really process what she said or if other person had pointed it out maybe the result have been different” he finishes. 

Marinette, Alix and Nathaniel take a moment to process what he said, it actually makes sense, Marinette herself has to admit she has let her emotions take away her reason and end up acting on impulse, Nathaniel… Reverser, not much to say about it, Alix just like Marinette has acted on impulse because of her emotions, besides, since she never heard about that incident until today she assumes the rest never thought about it later, so that would explain why they never thought about it more carefully, after all the claim was very stupid, specially for someone like Max to miss it. 

“Huh, that will explain it” Marinette finally says. 

“Yeah, well going back to the confrontation?” the skater reminds them. 

“Right! Well when I was in the bathroom I was freaking out a bit, I even attracted an akuma…” 

“WHAT?!” her guests shout stunned. Oh yeah, that detail. She forgot about it. 

“Yeah, but I calmed down before it could got to me” That seems to calm them down, if just a little “so the butterfly went away, just in that moment Lila appeared, she acted concerned but I already knew she was pretending so I tell her to drop the act and she did, I confronted her about her lies and she told me she just says what people want to hear, that since I was not as dumb as the rest fo you, her words not mines, she would give me until the end of the day to decide if I was with or against her and that if I chose to be her enemy then she will take away all my friends, ruin my reputation and that not even Adrien would want to be with me” she finishes and looks at her friends expectantly. 

All of them have stunned expressions, the first one to collect himself is… 

“SHE DID WHAT?” The other three teens flinch at Marc’s yell— again, him like this is very rare and not very nice to see— the writer has a clear angry expression in his face and his pink haired best friend and boyfriend are not any better. 

“Lila threatened you?!” Nathaniel asks, equally horrified and furious. 

“Yeah…” Is all Marinette can say, Alix stands up and starts pacing around the pink room, muttering angrily under her breath. 

Marc takes some calming breaths, losing his temper now won’t help them, then a thought crosses his mind. 

“Adrien knew about this?” he asks, with uncertainty tinting his voice. Marinette shakes her hands in front of her and her head in negative motion. 

“No! I never told him about the threat until when he told me about his deal with Lila” She is sure if she had told him he would never have asked her to remain silent, but she never took Lila seriously about it. When Adrien discovered it he was even more guilty and apologized like one hundred times more. 

A wave of relief rushes through the other teens, the blonde didn’t know, no harm done there. 

“But… why didn't you tell him… or anybody?” The redhead asks, genuinely curious. 

A small smile makes its way into Marinette’s lips. 

“Because I didn’t take her seriously and besides… I have faith in you guys and so far, and especially now” she makes sure to look at Nathaniel and Alix in the eyes when she says this “you have proved me right” she states softly and happily, the other two give her touched expressions and glad smiles. 

The three classmates hug each other while the writer just looks with fondness. Though, he can’t help but wish Marinette would have told them, or at least commented this to him— they have shared so much between them, nice and bad things— maybe he could have been able to help more, but that doesn’t matter, now they know and can think what to do from this, that’s the important. 

When they break the hug Marinette says hopefully. 

“Besides, if you guys found out about Lila’s true colors maybe the rest will do as well… eventually” The other three look at her and smile, also wishing for the best with this situation. 

“You are right, thanks to Marc we realized pretty much of what Lila says is dumb, but with Lila being good at manipulating people makes me wonder how much it would take for the rest to realize it too” Alix states, making them frown a little in consideration, that’s a fair point, and neither of them are sure how much they could put up with her. 

“What if we try to tell the others? I mean, there are more of us now, should it count for them to at least listen, right?” Nathaniel offers, Marinette was on her own at first, and others just assumed her behavior was because of her jealousy over Adrien, but now she has Adrien and them, there is no reason for them to distrust Lila, right? It should work.

“I’m not sure about it” Marinette replies “Adrien and I thought about it, but judging for how far Lila is willing to go and how petty she can be we don’t think exposing her straight would work, she can always use the pity act and the fake tears and try to twist the situation in her favor, making us looks like the bad guys and even convincing the rest I turned you guys against her, is too risky” 

The others visibly deter at this, with the knowledge they have so far it wouldn’t surprise them if the Italian— assuming that she is indeed Italian— would try something like that, the designer is right, is too risky but… 

“But we can’t just do nothing, she is not just manipulating our friends, she is giving them shitty advice based on her fake experiences and giving them false hopes, Alya’s blog is already damaged with that interview she posted!” Alix express worried, indeed, they know pretty well Lila won’t change her ways and people will get hurt in the process. 

After some seconds she scoffs and spits out “Besides I don’t think she will respect her deal with Adrien, the witch!” That's another thing they all had to agree with, even if Lila decides to be more subtle or try a different approach, they are sure she will still try to make Marinette miserable. 

“Yeah, Adrien and I also thought that but still we don't know how to deal with her besides facing whatever she throws at us when she does” the girl says frustrated with her situation. 

Marinette, Alix and Nathaniel go into a ramble about what they could do, brainstorming ideas and thinking about possible consequences. 

Marc for his part is not paying attention to them, deep in his own thoughts, just like them he thinks that they need to do something, they can’t just let Lila get away with her lies, she will just hurt more people and even go after Marinette again, but just like Marinette said a direct approach would be counterproductive… unless… 

There are many different variables that would turn things in their or hers favor, a lot of possibilities directed by the decision or actions they made and how Lila would react as well, something is clear for him, if they want to stop her they need to expose her not just as a liar but also as the manipulative, horrible person she is, and they would need solid and strong proof so not even her would find a way to twist their words in her favor… 

His mind is organizing ideas, analyzing their options— just like when he comes up with a plot idea— he could compare this with a chess game, the tools, evidence or whatever they could have to expose her are their pieces, Lila’s lies and her acting are her pieces, there are also different moves, he knows if he thinks about it he could set a winning game plan, specially with the kind of player Lila is, she— for the things he knows from the others— is quiet narcissist, she will overestimate her skills and underestimate any threat… which is actually good for them, though he still needs more information to work with… 

Also, they don’t need to be dramatic about this— at least not _too_ dramatic— they can always just expose her in a simple way, and who knows? Maybe they can also take care of other matters while doing that. 

With an idea solid in his mind he clears his throat to catch the others’ attention, who are still talking about what they could do. 

The other teens stop their talk and turn to see the writer, replacing his usual sweet and shy demeanor is a cold seriousness, his warm eyes are now burning with a protectiviness that just a bunch of people have seen in those emeralds before, they immediately know Marc is in mama bear mode and that he already has a plan or at least an idea, they straighten up and give the ravenette all their attention. 

“You already have a plan, don’t you?” Nathaniel asks his boyfriend, Marc simply smirks in a way that never fails to amaze his friends and partner— the redhead even finds that smirk kind of hot— the determination in his face and eyes are the same you could see on Paris’ heroes whenever they fight a hard akuma. 

“Just help me with some investigation, I’ll handle the rest” is Marc’s plain answer, the students from Miss Bustier’s class look at each other, wondering what is happening inside the writer’s mind but giving determined nods nonetheless, whatever the writer is planning they just know is going to work and damn it if it doesn’t. 

They have seen him getting into the protective mode, they have seen him really angry— and all of them are grateful for never being the reason behind it because Marc is a cinnamon roll but he gets really scary when he gets angry— they know what his wrath and wish to look after them is capable of, they have seen it with their own eyes, they have seen the shy writer transform into a brave knight just for the sake if his beloved ones. Is something that always amazes— and even frightens— them. It doesn’t matter if he snaps loud for everyone to hear or if he acts in secret so nobody will know what happened, he always delivers a deathblow. 

Knowing and being witnesses of all of this they almost feel bad for Lila. Almost. 

“Just tell us what to do and consider it done!” Marinette says, also smirking, Nathaniel and Alix nod besides her with grins of their own, already expecting the outcoming of this. 

Marc’s smirk gets bigger as he explains what they need to know for now. Maybe he just has half of his plan solidly setted up, but that doesn't matter, he has plenty of time to either put together the rest or discard it, in any case the result will be the same if he knows how to play his pieces. 

Watch out, Rossi! Another player will face you in your own game, and this time he will be ready to win.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little thing: next chapter will explore a little of Marc's past and how he discovered his "mama bear mode"


End file.
